Woven-wire-and-slat packing-case



(No Model.) I 2 Sheets-Sheet 1.

M. A. HAMILTON. WOVEN WIRE AND SLAT PACKING CASE.

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M. A. HAMILTON. WOVEN WIRE AND SLAT PACKING CASE.

No. 437.594. Patented Sept. 30, 1890.

cum aumm UNITED STATES PATENT OFFIC MILTON A. HAMILTON, OF DETROIT, MICHIGAN.

WOVEN-WlRE -AND-SLAT PACKING-CASE.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 437,594, datedSeptember 30, 1890.

Application filed May 25,1889. Serial No. 312,051. (No model.)

1 To all whonc it may concern:

Be it known that I, MILTON A. HAMILTON, a citizen of the United States,residing at Detroit, county of Wayne, State of Michigan, have invented acertain new and useful Improveme'nt in Woven-VVire-and-Slat Packing-Cases; and do I declare the following to be a full, clear, and exactdescription of the invention, such as will enable others skilled in theart to which it appertains to make and use the same, reference being hadto the accompanying drawings, which form a part of this specification.

My invention relates to certain new and useful improvements in theconstruction of woven-Wire-and-slat packing-cases, and is designed moreparticularly as an improvement on devices of this class for whichpatents were granted to me by the United States March 13, 1888, No.379,219, and November 29, 1887, No. 373,828.

The object of my invention is to provide a package of woven slats with ahead of one piece or in sections, which is durable in use, comparativelyinexpensive of production, and well adapted for the purpose for which itis designed.

Accordingly, Figure 1 is a view in perspective of the fabric and headbefore being'compressed one upon the other. Fig. 2 isa view inperspective, showing a complete barrel or keg. Fig. 3 is a modificationin elevation with the bilge reduced and hooped. Fig. 4 shows a part of arecessed head engaged with the fabric. Fig. 5 showsthe slats constructedwith scallops on the marginal edges and cut away at the ends. Fig. 6shows the head surrounded by a band without grooving the head. Fig. 7 isa detail view in section, showing a common bevel-edged head indentedinto a body by compression. Fig. Sis a view in section, illustrating aparticular construction of the head and the manner of its engagement inplace.

I carry out my invention as follows:

A represents a fabric forming the body of the barrel or keg, said fabricconstructed of slats a, connected by a warp of wires a interwoventherewith, and as more fully set forth in the patents referred to.

B is the head. In the first above-mentioned patent expansion-heads werecontemplated, and the bilge was to be formed by expanding the center ofthe body of the barrel or keg. My present purpose, however, is incertain cases to doopposite nature, compression being herein employedinstead of expansion.

My invention to this end contemplates the I use of a head made of one ormore pieces, as may be preferred.

In the process of construction the edges of the fabric made ready foruse are brought to.- g'ether and engaged firmly by any suitablefastener-as, for instance, clasps G O or staples or analogous devices,either permanent or movable.

I do not herein limit myself to any particular fastening means forholding the adjacent edges of the fabric together.

It will be understood that the head is of smaller diameter than thenormal inner diameter of the body adjacent thereto. It will be obvious,also, that the slats of wood, though normally woven close together, maybe materially compressed, since,-the slats being numerous, thecompression of each, even in a slight degree, will give in the aggregateall the compression that will be required to secure the desired result.By such compression of the ends of the body the diameter thereof atthese points may be contracted and to such an extent as to bind thefabric in firm engagement upon the periphery of the head. To secure thiscompression any suitable means maybe employed-ms, for instance, anordinary coopers Windlass with a rope adjusted about the end of the bodyfabric. Power applied to the Windlass will then draw in and snuglycompress the fabric about the head and form a strong engagement of thetwo in their mutual relations to each other. When this compression ofthe fabric upon the head has been secured, a hoop D is engaged over thecompressed body fabric to hold the fabric in place and prevent itsrelaxing, the use of the hoop in this case being not to tighten theslats, as is its use where staves are employed, but simply to hold andmaintain the compression already secured. First one head of the barrelor keg isthus engaged in place with the fabric compressed about it andheld by the hoop. Then the package may 7 be filled and the other endheaded up in the same way. It will be seen'that by thus diminishing thediameters of the ends of the body by compression a bilge A willnecessarily be formed Without any expansion, as compression is absent atthis point. The bilge may thus be formed also from a fabric where theslats are of normally-uniform width, it being wholly unnecessary towiden the slats at the center. The fabric itself, therefore, issimplified in construction and its production cheapened. I do not,however, limit myself to the use of normally straight slats. Ifnecessary, intermediate hoops E maybe em ployed to give addedstrengthwhere the barrel or keg is tobe used for shipping heavy goods.

I have shown in the accompanying drawings the fabric constructed with acroze a of projecting loops of wire A interwoven with the slats, as setforth in the first patent above referred to. I do not, however,- limitmyself to a croze so made, or even to the use of a croze at all, as forsome purposes at least the compression will so indent the head into theface of the fabric as to answer every purpose, or the fabric may benailed upon the head. If desired, the head may be recessed to receivethe projecting loop, as shown in Fig. 4; but this is also immaterial.

, As the head is not forced into place in the manner heretofore common,it will be obvious that it is not necessary to provide the body fabricwith a chine, the full strength of the material beingv preserved. Byremoving the hoop from the end of the barrel or keg the fabric will beloosened, so that the head can be readily disengaged. WVhere aventilating-package is desired, the fabric may be loosely woven, and asthe fabric is simply compressed at the ends of the body the intermediateportion will remain open.

The principle of compressing the ends of the body upon a head ofnarrower diameter than'the normal diameter of the body adjacent theretois believed to be new whatever may be the construction of the bodyitself, and I desire, therefore, to cover this feature broadly herein. I

It is to be noted that the hoops D are not driven upon the barrel or kegto tighten the body upon the head, as is ordinarily the case, asthistightening is already accomplished before the hoop is located thereupon,the compression being maintained by the Windlass or other compressingdevice until the hoop is secured in place. A barrel or keg soconstructed forms an efficient knockdown package. The body being in oneintegral piece, may be readily assembled about the heads and engagedthereupon in the manner set forth. By releasing the hoops the heads arereadily released, and the fabric, being flexible, may be flattened outor rolled up into small ner a very tight package may be constructed fromthe woven fabric. So, also, the intermediate hoops E, already referredto, may be driven toward the bilge to make the package tighter, ifdesired. 7 A tight package from woven fabric will, however, be thusprovided by weaving the slats firmly andclosely together, as theoperation of compressing the fabric upon the head does not lessen thetight union of the edges of the slats so woven, as

is liable to be the case where an expan-sionhead is used.

I would have it understood that I do not limit myself to any particularconstruction of the fabric alone, as it might be woven in various waysand still come within the scope of my invention.

The compression of the fabric in the man ner already described and heldin place by a hoop may also be applied to the engagement of the bottomin place in a basket, the I bottom being in such a case properly impliedunder the term head, while a basket so constructed is properly includedunder the general term package, as herein employed in thisspecification. Where the slats are scalloped, as in Fig. 5, the scallopsmay be out upon one or upon both sides, the scallops being eitheropposite or alternate on adjacent slats. So, also, for some purposes itmay be desirable to cut away the slat upon one or both sides, as shownat a a. Such a construction will facilitate compression under somecircumstances. Such a construction of the ends of the slats will alsoprovide for increased bilge and strengthen the barrel WhileI do notlimit myself to any parparticular construction of the head, I prefer forsome uses to construct it of separatepieces, as shown in Fig. 8 at b 1)b said pieces being bound firmly together by a band B", as of wire.

A head may obviously be made cheaper from separate pieces than in asingle integral piece. Still, for conveniece in handling and in order tohold the head together while being engaged in place, it is desirable tounite the pieces firmly to make a united head.

In the application of a head in a fabric constructed as herein describedsuch a head is especially desirable in order that it may foo IIO

be conveniently handled in compressing the fabric thereupon. Moreover,in forcing .a head into place, as in compressing fruit into a barrel inthe customary way, such a head is very desirable and eificient. The wireB", however, it will be readily seen, not only serves to bind thevarious pieces of the head firmly together, but also serves effectuallyto unite the head firmly with the fabric without the requirement of anycroze. When the fabric is compressed upon the head, the slats being madeof compressible material, the wire is readily embedded in the slats, asshown, making a very firm union the one with the other. I contemplatethe application of the wire on the periphery of the head either bysuitably grooving said periphery, as shown at b, or without, as may bepreferred. The compression of the fabric upon the head will serve toindent the wire into the head as well as the slats of the fabric where aprevious grooving of the head is dispensed with. The utility of the wireabout the head to dispense with the necessity of a croze is equallyadvantageous in a head made in a single piece.

'It will be obvious, moreover, that with a head made from hard woodbeveled to an edge in the ordinary way, as shown in Fig. 7 at b theforce of compressing the body upon the head will cause the edge of thehead to indent the body, dispensing with the necessity of providing thebody with a croze.

In Fig. 4 I have shown a head grooved to receive a croze-wire interwovenwith the fabric; but it will be obvious that such a wire, if sufficientforce be employed in the compression of the fabric, will be embedded inthe periphery of the head without previously grooving said periphery.The wire a of Fi 4 may simply to this end be interwoven in any desiredmanner with. the fabric at the end thereof.

In compressing the fabric of which the body is constructed, as Icontemplate the use of the slats made of soft wood, not only are theslats forced close together, but the grain of the wood of each slat isalso compacted, thereby securing additional firmness and strength aswell as form or shape. This enables me to use lighter material and tostill secure the desired strength.

What I claim is 1. A package having abody formed of slats interwovenwith a warp of wire, the edges of the slats being in close contactthroughout their length, said body being compressed at its ends to adiameter less than the normal diameter of the assembled body, forming abilge, and hoops to hold thebody in its com pressed state, substantiallyas set forth.

2. A package havinga body formed of a fabric of slats interwoven with awarp of wire, the edges of the slats being in close contact, the bodybeing compressed at its ends to a diameter less than the normal diameterof the assembled body, heads located within the compressed ends, andhoops to retain the compressed ends in position, substantially as setforth. I v

3. A package having a body formed of'a fabric of slats interwoven with awarp of wire, said body compressed at the end into a circumference lessthan the combined normal widths of the slats at the point ofcompression, and a hoop to hold the slats compressed, substantially asset forth.

4.. A package having, in combination, a head less in diameter than thenormal diameter of the body compressed upon it, the body v formed of afabric of slats interwoven with a warp of wire and provided withawireengaged therewith adjacent to the periphery of the head, said fabric andlast-named wire compressed upon the periphery of the head and securedthereupon, substantially as set forth.

In testimony whereof I sign this specification in the presence of twowitnesses.

MILTON A. HAMILTON. Witnesses:

N. S. WRIGHT, CHAS. F. SALoW.

